Beginnings - A Look In Genesis. Part 1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  Genesis 1:1

If you're a "Bible rookie", that's the first verse in the book.  It kicks off the whole story.  And what a verse it is!

Before there was anything or anyone, there was only God.  Just Him.  I know people like to ask, "Who created God?"  Nobody created God.  He has always existed.  His nature is eternal, with no beginning and no end.  Yeah, that's kind of hard for us to wrap our finite brains around.  Difficult to figure out.  (Even tougher to figure out than how the last person off the school bus closes that funky front door!  You ever wondered about that?)

Notice this:  the central character in the first verse of the Bible is ... God.  And that sets the tone for the rest of the book.  The story of the Bible is about God.  Who He is.  What He does.  How He operates.  It's a book that is inspired by Him and is all about Him. 

So, when we look at the start of our story, what do we see?  Well, we see God creating.  He is at work.  The Divine Artist is making something spectacular.  The heavens and the earth are brought into existence by His perfect craftsmanship.

Here's what makes this extra cool.  He created all of this ... out of nothing.  There was not a stack of supplies sitting off to the side, waiting to be used, when God created the heavens and the earth.  He made something ... out of nothing.  If you ask me, I think that is mind-boggling.

God is flat-out, 100% amazing!  He has always been here.  And He created this planet we live on, along with everything we see up in the sky.  Can I give you a suggestion?  Say a prayer today, and compliment God on a job well done.  Tell Him how awesome you think He is.  He more than deserves some praise, doesn't He?!  So let's give Him some today.  If we can applaud some college kid, who we don't personally know, for scoring a touchdown on Saturday, then surely we can praise God, who we DO know, for making this beautiful universe we get to call "home". 

Finally, remember that God still creates!  His nature never changes.  If God created in the beginning, He can still create today.  He can take struggling, dysfunctional families, and create happy homes of love and peace.  He can take addicts of any kind, and create new lives of freedom and joy.  He can take stuffy, weak, hurting, divided, dying churches, and create vibrant, healthy, passionate congregations that are powerfully turning their communities upside down with the gospel.  You see my point?  If something is not right with you, your family, or your church, there is still hope.  God creates!  Best of all, God creates a new us, when we let Him.  He takes out the old, brings in the new, and makes us right.  This is what David meant when he wrote in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God..."   

Wow!  What a God He is.  Let's praise Him for what He has created.  And let's trust Him if we need Him to create something new today.